{"id":169520,"date":"2025-12-24T12:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T09:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"minsk-convicts-belarusian-mercenary-who-fought-for-russia-reports","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk convicts Belarusian mercenary who fought for Russia \u2013 reports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin.webp 840w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin-354x236.webp 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin-734x490.webp 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin-178x118.webp 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Volodymyr Zolkin&#039;s YouTube channel)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>December 24, <\/strong><em><strong>Pozirk.<\/strong> <\/em>Maksim Ziazul\u010dyk, who fought against Ukraine on the Russian side, was convicted in Belarus of mercenary activity and high treason, marking the first sentence of a Belarusian national for fighting alongside Russia since 2014, according to DissidentBY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trial took place behind closed doors and was classified, the activists said. The man is reportedly held at Penal Colony No 17 in \u0160k\u0142o\u016d, Mahilo\u016d region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three years ago, Ziazul\u010dyk was reportedly wounded in the leg and captured by Ukrainian forces, who convicted him of mercenary activity and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Kyiv also suspected him of acting as an agent of the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, Ukraine handed Ziazul\u010dyk over to Russia, which sent him to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kalashnikov_ostro_org_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Kyiv: Russia recruited almost 600 Belarusians to fight against Ukraine in H1<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">September 3,&nbsp;Pozirk.&nbsp;At least 596 Belarusian nationals&nbsp;signed military service contracts with Russia to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine in the first half of 2025, reports the Ukrainian&nbsp;hochuzhit.com&nbsp;service that helps Russian troops safely surrender. \u201cThe Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples have never &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/153673\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 24, Pozirk. Maksim Ziazul\u010dyk, who fought against Ukraine on the Russian side, was convicted in Belarus of mercenary activity and high treason, marking the first sentence of a Belarusian national for fighting alongside Russia since 2014, according to DissidentBY. The trial took place behind closed doors and was classified, the activists said. The man [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":169497,"template":"","rubric":[16,15],"class_list":["post-169520","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Minsk convicts Belarusian mercenary who fought for Russia \u2013 reports | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"December 24, Pozirk. Maksim Ziazul\u010dyk, who fought against Ukraine on the Russian side, was convicted in Belarus of mercenary activity and high treason,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minsk convicts Belarusian mercenary who fought for Russia \u2013 reports | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"December 24, Pozirk. Maksim Ziazul\u010dyk, who fought against Ukraine on the Russian side, was convicted in Belarus of mercenary activity and high treason,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\"},\"headline\":\"Minsk convicts Belarusian mercenary who fought for Russia \u2013 reports\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-24T09:14:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\"},\"wordCount\":134,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin.webp\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/\",\"name\":\"Minsk convicts Belarusian mercenary who fought for Russia \u2013 reports | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169520\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zeziulchik_zolkin.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-24T09:14:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"December 24, Pozirk. 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